FTSE 100 movers: Frasers rallies on buyback; JD Sports hit by downgrade

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 8,153.26 in afternoon trade on Monday. Mike Ashley's Frasers Group was the standout performer on the index as it announced the start of a new £80m share buyback.

Prudential gained on the back of strong results from Asia-Pacific insurer AIA Group.

Insurance group Beazley was up as it said first-quarter results were in line with guidance with insurance written premiums (IWP) growing at high single digits.

Anglo American rose following a Reuters report suggesting that BHP Group is considering making an improved offer for the miner after its initial proposal was rejected.

JD Sports fell as Barclays downgraded the shares to 'equalweight' from 'overweight' and cut the price target to 140p from 165p after the retailer announced the acquisition of US rival Hibbett last week for $1.1bn.

JD Sports said it would pay $87.50 a share in cash for Hibbett stock.

"Companies cannot choose the perfect time to do deals, but we believe that rebuilding a track record would have been preferable before spending circa £900m on another acquisition, especially given concerns over Nike's innovation," the bank said.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Frasers Group (FRAS) 819.50p 2.95% Prudential (PRU) 740.60p 2.32% Beazley (BEZ) 649.50p 1.80% Anglo American (AAL) 2,689.50p 1.76% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,498.00p 1.70% SSE (SSE) 1,683.00p 1.69% St James's Place (STJ) 442.40p 1.61% Tesco (TSCO) 293.00p 1.42% AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,156.00p 1.40% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,476.00p 1.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 117.90p -1.87% Centrica (CNA) 131.25p -1.83% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 414.00p -1.69% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,705.00p -1.54% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 303.10p -1.40% Croda International (CRDA) 4,640.00p -1.34% Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,028.00p -1.25% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,846.00p -0.98% easyJet (EZJ) 533.80p -0.82% BT Group (BT.A) 104.15p -0.81%